A Wounded Soul
by coolyourbutt
Summary: Lithuania woke up with his heart racing one dark and stormy night, and he felt something was very wrong. He looked around his room and saw something awful looming in the doorway... Oneshot.


**Inspired by a discussion in my AP US History class. So hopefully at least one good thing came out of that torture chamber! Enjoy, lovelies, as I continue to be oh so jealous of the fact that I can't claim authority of these wonderful characters…**

**IMPORTANT! POV will change to Russia after the page break. But I'm sure you all will be able to tell when it changes, anyways. Cause that dude is NUTS. xD**

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><p>Lithuania awoke abruptly during the night to find himself surrounded by pitch blackness. He sat upright in bed, breathing hard, and wondering what had caused him to wake up with his heart racing like this. His left hand groped out in the darkness, feeling across his bedside table for the switch to his lamp. He found it and groaned aloud as the bulb refused to illuminate his room even when he flipped it on.<p>

Thunder rumbled in the distance and he heard the tapping of fat raindrops against the thick glass panes of his windows. The power must have gone out during the storm. So why did he get the feeling that it wasn't the thunder that had woken him…?

Bright lightning flashed and Lithuania let loose a muffled scream at the hulking figure silhouetted in his doorway. In its left hand was what appeared to be an all too familiar pipe.

"R-Russia?" he finally managed to stammer, an odd combination of dread and relief pumping through his veins as he recognized the dull purple glow that emanated from the man even after the bright blue-white lightning faded.

"Da, who else?" He took a step closer towards the open door.

"Oh, you just scared me." Lithuania shied away from Russia as he entered the room and approached the bed. His heart pounded furiously within his ribcage as he found his back pressed against the headboard. _What is he doing here so late? Is he going to hurt me?_ He trembled as he could practically _feel_ the large nation's eyes searching out his own in the dark. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I wanted to see if you were okay," he said, tilting his head slightly to the side, smiling innocently at Lithuania. "The storm is pretty scary."

Lithuania could think of a couple other things he considered 'pretty scary' right now, but decided it was best to just go along. "Well, thanks for checking on me, but I'm fine." He smiled nervously, hoping Russia would leave now.

Russia didn't move, didn't blink, but simply continued staring in Lithuania's direction. It could have been a trick of the strange purple light that Lithuania was seeing Russia in, but his eyes looked oddly unfocused. _Did he even hear me?_ Lithuania wondered.

"Ok," he finally answered. Lithuania was relieved; he'd be left alone, it seemed. "Follow me." Or not. Russia turned and marched straight out of the room. Lithuania stared after him for a moment, debating whether or not he should go. Eventually he decided to roll out of bed and trot down the dark hallway towards the distant luminescent figure. He was more afraid of what might happen if he didn't listen than what might happen if he did.

He caught up to Russia but stayed several paces behind him as they wandered through his enormous house. Eventually Russia stopped in front of the door to Estonia's bedroom.

A very similar process was repeated there, and again at Latvia's room. Russia's menacing presence woke them before he could even open the door, then he dragged them along with him, to wherever their final destination would be. The three Baltic's exchanged glances; none of them knew where they were going. Lithuania shrugged at the other two and took his place in the single file line they formed. Estonia took the lead, Lithuania just behind him, and Latvia, who was shaking slightly, trailed third and last.

As they continued following their abnormally cheerful guide, Lithuania noticed they were continually sinking lower and lower into the depths of the large mansion house. As they passed from the first floor to the basement, Lithuania began to feel uneasy. The only room that he knew of down here, besides the dungeons and assorted 'interrogation rooms', was…he gulped. _Russia's room_.

His room hadn't always been in the basement. It was only within the last few months he'd moved. When asked why, his eyes always glazed over. Then he would say something vague about the 'echoes of the eternal darkness' – or something like that – being less downstairs or whatever. It never made much sense to Lithuania, so he let it go. All Lithuania knew was that since Russia had made the move, he hadn't found him wandering the hallways in the middle of the night as often as he used to, so it was probably a good change.

"Ah, now we can sleep!" Russia sighed as he collapsed onto his large, low bed. The Baltic's stood around, looking at each other and at Russia in the faint lighting as he cuddled with his lead pipe. They were still unsure as to why he had brought them down here. Lithuania glanced nervously around the room, but it was too dark to see the walls since there were no windows this far underground. It had been awhile since the last time he'd been down here, and he wondered if any additions had been made to the collection of weapons and torture instruments hanging on the walls.

Estonia finally built up the courage to ask the question they were all thinking. "Mr. Russia, why are we here?"

"Hm?" Russia sat up in bed and looked at them. Then he laughed; an unhealthy, manic laugh that chilled Lithuania to the bone. "Well, my little утята*, I brought you down here so we can all sleep together so you guys won't be afraid of the storm anymore!"

A slight pause; and then, "But why?" It seemed like Estonia was feeling bold tonight. Lithuania began to worry for his wellbeing.

Russia seemed to think about it for a minute, his usually constant, creepy smile wavering a bit. "Because the power went out, so I thought you all might get cold, da?" he finally answered quite sweetly.

Lithuania remembered specifically telling Russia that he had been fine, but sighed and complied as Russia grabbed the front of his pajama shirt and pulled him into bed. It seemed like an innocent enough reason, if slightly unwarranted; still, something felt a little off about it. It didn't really matter though, because they didn't have much of a choice but to do as Russia wanted. He controlled them. Their lands, their peoples, their futures were all his.

Russia seemed to immediately settle down to go to sleep when he had his pipe (a security blanket of sorts) and Lithuania on his left, and Estonia and Latvia on his right. He closed his eyes, the dim purple light surrounding him faded until it was almost nonexistent, and his breathing slowed.

_He must be asleep now,_ Lithuania thought after a few minutes. Slowly he moved his legs off the edge of the bed, ready to try to escape back upstairs, but he felt a vice-like grip on his arm. He looked back over his shoulder to see Russia's purple light glowing brighter than before, his eyes open wide and a gentle smile on his face. He shook his head slowly, exactly two times. That was all Lithuania needed. He quickly lay back down and Russia went back to his previous appearance of sleep.

_Looks like we're stuck here after all,_ he thought with a sinking heart. He doubted he would be able to sleep tonight. The subtle shaking of the bed indicated that Latvia wasn't faring well either. What kind of creep got pleasure out of ruining their night like this?

Lithuania counted the passing minutes by the ticking of the second hand on his watch. The only other sound besides the gentle breathing of his bedmates was Estonia's low, soothing voice. He was talking to Latvia, comforting him, and it seemed to be working. Soon the trembling eased and quiet snores filled the air. Lithuania relaxed a little. Even if _he_ couldn't sleep, at least Latvia was alright. If anyone deserved some peace of mind tonight, it was that nervous wreck of a boy.

He felt a gentle tug on his sleeve and looked at Russia. The large, violet-eyed man was looking back with half-closed eyes and a strange expression on his face. Was it pleading? Was he asking Lithuania for something? Somehow, he looked extremely lost and vulnerable and confused. When he looked like that, like he might be a human with real emotions like the rest of them, Lithuania felt almost sorry for him. His heart, which had hardened on many levels over the years, softened just a touch as he saw all the pain and bloodshed the other man had endured reflected in that single, soft gaze.

Then Russia closed his eyes again, and released his arm. _He's not…all bad…_ Lithuania thought with the barest hint of a sympathetic smile. _He's just been hurt so many times._ He got ready to _try_ and fall asleep, Russia's bed or not, when he heard something that was to keep him awake for another full hour to come.

"Thank you," Russia murmured.

**…**

He had stopped Lithuania from leaving because he simply didn't understand why he would _want_ to leave. They were all together, they were happy. Where else would he go? Nowhere was as safe and warm as this bed.

He'd been so glad when the thunder storm had struck. No one would question why the power went out, though if anyone cared so much as to check, several important electrical wires to the house had been cut. But he would use any excuse he could to share the night with his beautiful утята* by his side.

Because when he was alone, the nightmares came, without fail, every night. Sometimes, when the loneliness and that appalling feeling of helplessness were unbearable, he joined Latvia in bed, because he found the perpetual shaking and aura of fear to be comforting. But it wasn't the same as when he had all three nations down in the dark, safe, basement.

They were a buffer. They kept away the cold, the pain that always threatened. They kept away the possibility of a future just as tragic as his past. They were living, breathing versions of the scarf he always wore to protect himself from _outside. _Without them he always felt naked, exposed, and horribly alone.

Yes, for now he was safe. He was surrounded on both sides by three men wonderfully easy to manipulate, to control, to force to take part in his suffering_._ And all was well.

But in the morning the screams in his head would return. Why was it always like that?

He wanted to ask Lithuania. He had looked at him, the questions on his lips. _Why can't you stop this torment? Why can't we all disappear to a quiet place, as blank and painless as a snow-covered field? _

_Why am I here?_

"Thank you," he had said instead, somewhat surprised with himself. It wasn't what he'd wanted to say, but in that blissful moment of tranquility within a lifetime of chaos and heartache, he _was_ thankful.

He sighed contentedly. Even a single night of peace and comfort was a lot to be grateful for.

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><p><strong>So yeah…that turned out a little more depressing at the end than was originally intended. Sorry about that, haha. Thanks for reading, and don't forget that <strong>_**your**_** reviews make me a better writer! So if you want to see something actually quality coming from me, then tell me things you don't like about me. xD**

***утята – 'ducklings'. Yeah, pretty much just for the heck of it! xD**


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